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- For the series of rides formerly known as Drop Zone, now assigned the proper name of Drop Tower, see Drop Tower.
A drop tower is a type of amusement ride, based around a central structure or tower. With most drop towers, the gondola is lifted to the top of a large vertical structure, before being released and falling towards the ground. Brakes activate to slow the ride prior to reaching the ground. Some designs expand on this concept, with some designs promoting rotating gondalas or that riders be 'bounced' several times before coming to a rest.
Most parks and carnivals require riders to be 48 inches (122 cm) or taller. The fastest free-fall/drop tower in the world is an Intamin designed and manufactured ride named Giant Drop. The ride is 390 feet (119 m) high and reaches a speed of 84.375 mph (140.6 km/h), the ride is located at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, Australia. The highest drop tower is the The Big Shot which is located on the top of the Stratosphere Las Vegas casino hotel tower. The base of the ride is 921 feet (281 m) above ground with the top of the ride at 1,081 feet (329 m).
Drop towers vary in height, passenger capacity, lift type, and brake type. Many are custom made, although there are some mass-produced designs, which are listed below.
The drop tower ride type should not be confused with the observation tower ride type.
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Examples
- Big Shot located on the top of the Stratosphere Las Vegas reaching 1,081 feet (329 m) is the highest drop tower ride in the world, being located on top of the Stratosphere Las Vegas
- The Giant Drop located at Dreamworld in Queensland, Australia, is the fastest and tallest drop tower ride in the world.
- The Pitt Fall at Kennywood
- The Mega Drop at the Illinois State Fair (removed in 2008)
- The Drop Tower at five Cedar Fair parks
- The cliffhanger located at flamingo land in Britain is the 2nd highest in Britain
- Detonator at Thorpe Park
- Scream Machine at Coney Island
Ride designs
Mass-produced tower rides include:
- Double Shot
- The Piledriver
- Space Shot (air-powered blast up and down)
- Spring Ride / Family Tower
- Super Shot
- Turbo Drop (air-powered blast down)
- Intamin Drop Tower
- Z-Force (Zamperla shot'n'drop tower)
- Flash Tower (Zamperla shot'n'drop tower)
- Hurakan Condor (Multi-ride with variants)
- Power Tower
Injuries And Accidents
- In August 1999, 12-year-old Joshua Smurphat, who had a mental disability, fell from the tower and died. Smurphat's family claimed the harness was not locked properly.
- Following the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom incident, all the towers were closed and the Carowinds model was found to have "stretched" cables [1].
See also
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